Announcements

This morning i’m setting for a few days in the Swiss Alps, checking out the long-delayed Forum Wallis festival in Leuk. The Lent Series will continue while i’m away, and i’ll be reporting on the (in all likelihood, weird and wonderful) goings-on in Switzerland once i’m back next week.

This morning i’m setting off for a week in Reykjavík, to experience all that’s going on during this year’s Myrkir músíkdagar, aka Dark Music Days. In my absence there’s a bit more free music to be explored, and there’ll be words galore when i get back from Iceland.

This afternoon i’m heading north for a few days to experience some of this year’s Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Words in abundance once i return next week.

i’m heading off to Norway this morning to catch a few days of this year’s Ultima festival in Oslo. Words aplenty to follow once i get back next week.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the final two concerts of this year’s Proms season have been cancelled as a mark of respect. Therefore, the last of this year’s planned new works, James B. Wilson‘s 1922, will not now take place, effectively bringing to an end my coverage of…

i’m heading off to Birmingham this evening, to savour the next few days’ acousmatic delights and disorientation at the BEAST FEaST festival. Words to follow once i’m back next week.

It’s no fewer than 40 years since the formation of BEAST – Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre, one of the leading organisations pioneering the creation and presentation of electronic music. To celebrate this milestone, next week Birmingham University will be hosting BEAST FEaST 2022, a four-day extravaganza of concerts, installations and…

This year’s Proms season has been announced in the last few days, and alongside all the standard fare, there’s the usual small smattering of contemporary music to get mildly excited about. Scanning through the programme, the most immediate thing that leapt out was familiarity, even predictability, the festival in general…

This morning i’m setting off for Tallinn, to explore the eclectic shenanigans at this year’s Estonian Music Days. Words to follow once i’m back later next week.

i’m setting off this morning for Bergen, to attend Norway’s most discombobulating new music festival Borealis. Words to follow once i get back next week – and once i’ve begun to figure out what on earth i experienced.

This morning i’m setting off for a week and a bit in Iceland, attending the Dark Music Days festival. In my absence – starting on Wednesday – this year’s Lent Series will begin (so only half a fermata this time); words to follow about all the goings-on in Reykjavík once…

It’s tempting to hope that 2022 might finally bring an end to the widespread disruption that has plagued concerts and festivals for the last two years. With that optimism in mind, there are some interesting events to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Having not set foot in the place for two years – which by now feels like an absolute aeon – i’m setting off today for the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, where i’ll (hopefully) be happily immersed for the next few days. Words to follow once i get back next week.

First thing this morning – assuming i’ve completed all the right forms and done all the right tests and can present all the right results in all the right ways – i’m setting off for Norway to catch the second half of this year’s Ultima festival in Oslo. Back next…

Somewhat against the odds – and also somewhat unexpectedly – i’m heading off this morning to the north of England for a holiday in Yorkshire. Back next week.

This year’s Proms programme has begun, tentatively, to be unveiled. At present there remains a number of concerts where the content has not yet been announced – plus several ‘Mystery Proms’ – so there will be more to come, but thus far there are a few contemporary items to start…

Another festival that’s recently been announced is an entirely new addition to the annual list of new music events. The Baltic Music Days is in initiative that seeks to bring together contemporary music from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. i first heard suggestions about the possibility of this festival a few…

Following the almost complete write-off of 2020, festivals are continuing to be forced to rejig, reorganise and reconfigure their concerts this year due to ongoing restrictions. The 2021 Borealis festival in Bergen, Norway, has just been announced, and whereas last year it managed to take place just about normally before…

It’s a work i’d very much like to write about in more depth at a later date, as there’s so much to say about it… i wrote those words following a concert that took place almost exactly a year ago, before the time when lockdowns were a thing and i…

Forgot to say: my Best Beloved is fast approaching what can only be described as a ‘significant’ birthday this week, so i’m currently away on a not-quite-holiday-but-not-quite-not-holiday-either at the moment, during which i’ll be celebrating / commiserating as required. Back next week.